Public opinion has “near-zero” impact on U.S. law.

Here's the bottom line of a Princeton study, "Does the Government Represent the People?":

Gilens & Page found that the number of Americans for or against any idea has no impact on the likelihood that Congress will make it law.
“The preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.”
One thing that does have an influence? Money. While the opinions of the bottom 90% of income earners in America have a “statistically non-significant impact,” Economic elites, business interests, and people who can afford lobbyists still carry major influence.
The study found that nearly every issue we face as a nation is caught in the grip of corruption. Industries given special attention are those who provide the most funding to politicians: Energy, Telecommunications, Pharmaceuticals, Defense, Agribusiness and Finance.

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Bernie Sanders’ House Parties

Earlier this week, I attended an organizational meeting for those seeking to do volunteer work for the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders. The meeting was held at the office of the Communications Workers of America in west St. Louis County (there were 8 other simultaneous meetings in St. Louis along, and thousands of these meetings nationwide. As you can see, more than 100 people showed up to volunteer at my location. Sanders spoke via video to all of those gathered together tonight.  There are reports that 100,000 people attended Sanders' House Parties across the U.S. this week. Anyone else interested in working for Sanders' campaign can do so by visiting his website. 11754891_10206251197392464_896331055585339618_o 11792007_10206251197232460_1261169718572297136_o

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How to stay classy after a breakup

Good article by Seth Borkowski. Points to the frailty of all relationships.

However, watching “Annie Hall” after my relationship ended was unexpectedly different because I felt as if I had grown with Alvy. I felt comfortable with my understanding of the madness and the irresistibly addictive nature of relationships. With that understanding, I discovered the closure I had been searching for. Of course, it wasn’t entirely satisfying.

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